GMR-run Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) in New Delhi and Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) in Hyderabad have received the ACI World’s (Airports Council International) ‘Voice of Customer’ recognition.
Both the GMR-run airports have been recognised for their continuous efforts to listen to their passengers, engage and gather feedback to understand their needs and ensure customers’ voice was heard during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.
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Covid-19 has affected every sector in the world, aviation taking among the hardest hits. With the objective of restoring passenger trust in air travel, Delhi International Airport and Hyderabad Airport Limited went all out to quickly adapt to the new normal situations and implement several passenger-friendly measures for a safe travel.
Passenger feedback was constantly monitored and worked upon.
Both the airports also implemented several passenger-friendly measures such as contactless elevators, contactless information desks, promotion of digital transactions, app-based technologies for shopping and food ordering through HOI app, UV sanitisation of passenger baggage, strategic placement of disinfectant mats, ensuring higher input of UV disinfected fresh air (filtered through HEPA filters) in the terminal buildings and sanitisation of cabs were put in place.
Videh Kumar Jaipuriar, CEO, DIAL, said, “At Delhi Airport, we implemented several unique initiatives last year to ensure passengers’ safety without compromising on their comfort and experience. This ACI recognition is a testimony to the fact that the airport community and stakeholders have given their best to take care of passengers’ needs without compromising with their comfort and experience.”
Pradeep Panicker, CEO, GMR Hyderabad International Airport, said, “We are honoured to receive this recognition in such critical times. This speaks volumes about the hard work and commitment of the entire airport community and all stakeholders who made it possible and diligently work round the clock to ensure passenger delight.”
Social distancing norms
RGIA, which is the only airport in the country to have an advantage of paperless e-boarding facility for several years for all domestic travellers, extended this contact-less boarding facility for international passengers too.
The 24×7 social media command centre emerged as the eyes and ears of Delhi Airport. It also launched the Air Suvidha portal, which provided international passengers an opportunity to sail through various quarantine exemption procedures.
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Airports Council International (ACI), the trade association of the world’s airports, was founded in 1991 with the objective of fostering cooperation among its member airports and other partners in world aviation, including the International Civil Aviation Organisation, the International Air Transport Association and the Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation.
DIAL and GHIAL have won the coveted ACI’s Airport Service Quality (ASQ) Departures Awards by being adjudged as the ‘Best Airport by Size and Region’ in the Asia-Pacific region for 2019, in their respective categories. ASQ is the world’s leading airport passenger service and benchmarking programme, measuring passengers’ satisfaction during the passage through airports.